Apparatus and method for monitoring hazardous materials in a processing or other environment
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A portable apparatus, comprising:
- a sensor operable to measure one or more hazardous materials;
a memory operable to store measured amounts of the one or more hazardous materials generated by the sensor;
a tracking system operable to identify a location of the apparatus through information provided by the tracking system using at least one beacon broadcast in an industrial processing facility as the apparatus is moved within the industrial processing facility, wherein the sensor and the tracking system are configured to provide information to an external system operable to track trends related to how one or more hazardous materials move in the industrial processing facility;
an interface operable to transmit data from the sensor, the data associated with the measured amounts of the one or more hazardous materials;
a control operable, when manually operated, to trigger measurement of the one or more hazardous materials by the sensor;
a display operable to present information to a user, the information comprising;
the measured amounts of the one or more hazardous materials, one or more units of measurement for the measured amounts of the one or more hazardous materials, and an identification of any upper and lower thresholds violated by the measured amounts of the one or more hazardous materials;
a controller configured to trigger an alarm in response to any thresholds violated by the measured amounts of the one or more hazardous materials; and
a waterproof housing containing the sensor, the tracking system, the interface, the control, the display, and the controller, wherein the housing comprises an attachment operable to couple the housing to a moveable object.
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Abstract
A sensor detects one or more hazardous materials, such as by measuring the concentration of one or more hazardous gasses. The sensor or an external system can also determine a location of the sensor. This location can be associated with the measured data from the sensor at the external system or at the sensor. The location could be determined at the sensor using GPS or RFID. The location could be determined at the external system using RFID. The external system can use the measured data and the location information to perform a wide variety of tasks, such as mapping hazardous materials in a processing or other environment or identifying trends in the concentration of the hazardous materials.
44 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A portable apparatus, comprising:
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a sensor operable to measure one or more hazardous materials; a memory operable to store measured amounts of the one or more hazardous materials generated by the sensor; a tracking system operable to identify a location of the apparatus through information provided by the tracking system using at least one beacon broadcast in an industrial processing facility as the apparatus is moved within the industrial processing facility, wherein the sensor and the tracking system are configured to provide information to an external system operable to track trends related to how one or more hazardous materials move in the industrial processing facility; an interface operable to transmit data from the sensor, the data associated with the measured amounts of the one or more hazardous materials; a control operable, when manually operated, to trigger measurement of the one or more hazardous materials by the sensor; a display operable to present information to a user, the information comprising;
the measured amounts of the one or more hazardous materials, one or more units of measurement for the measured amounts of the one or more hazardous materials, and an identification of any upper and lower thresholds violated by the measured amounts of the one or more hazardous materials;a controller configured to trigger an alarm in response to any thresholds violated by the measured amounts of the one or more hazardous materials; and a waterproof housing containing the sensor, the tracking system, the interface, the control, the display, and the controller, wherein the housing comprises an attachment operable to couple the housing to a moveable object. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method, comprising:
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measuring one or more hazardous materials at a portable sensor multiple times, wherein at least one measurement is taken in response to manual operation of a control on the portable sensor; storing measured amounts of the one or more hazardous materials generated in a memory of the portable sensor; identifying locations of the portable sensor in a mine as the portable sensor is moved within the mine using information provided by an external system with at least one beacon broadcast, the locations identified at the portable sensor; transmitting data associated with the measured amounts of the one or more hazardous materials and the identified locations of the sensor to the external system; displaying information to a user on the portable sensor, the information comprising;
the measured amounts of the one or more hazardous materials, one or more units of measurement for the measured amounts of the one or more hazardous materials, and an identification of any thresholds violated by the measured amounts of the one or more hazardous materials;tracking a movement, a trend and a build-up of the one or more hazardous materials; triggering an alarm on the portable sensor in response to at least one threshold being violated by the measured amounts of the one or more hazardous materials; and attaching a waterproof housing of the portable sensor to a moveable object. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A computer readable medium embodying a computer program, the computer program comprising:
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computer readable program code for receiving measurement data associated with one or more hazardous materials from a portable sensor, the sensor associated with an environment, the environment comprising an industrial processing facility, the measurement data comprising measured amounts of the one or more hazardous materials; computer readable program code for receiving location data identifying locations of the portable sensor in the industrial processing facility as the portable sensor is moved within the industrial processing facility, where the location data is received using at least one broadcast from a beacon; computer readable program code for analyzing the measurement data and the location data and for tracking trends related to how the one or more hazardous materials move in the environment; and computer readable program code for presenting a map of the industrial processing facility, an identification on the map of the measured amounts of the one or more hazardous materials, any warnings specifying where the measured amounts of the one or more hazardous materials exceed at least one threshold, an identification on the map of how the one or more hazardous materials move within the industrial processing facility, and an identification on the map of the trends of the one or more hazardous materials. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification